Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'DNA, G-quadruplex, structure'

In this dissertation, the formation of unusual G-quadruplexes in the critical regions of the c-myb and hTERT promoters for control of promoter activity was investigated.The c-myb promoter contains three copies of an almost perfect (GGA)4 sequence. We demonstrate that the each (GGA)4 repeat forms a tetrad:heptad G-quadruplex and any two of the three can intramolecularly dimerize to form T:H:H:T G-quadruplexes. The three T:H:H:T G-quadruplex combinations are of differing degrees of stability and can be further stabilized by G-quadruplex interactive compounds. We also demonstrate that the c-myb G-quadruplex forming region is a critical transcriptional regulatory element and interacts with various nuclear proteins including MAZ (Myc Associated Zinc finger protein). The data from luciferase reporter assay show that the c-myb GGA repeat region plays dual roles as a transcriptional activator and an inhibitor by serving as binding sites for the activators and by forming G-quadruplex structures in the region, respectively. Furthermore, we show that MAZ is a transcriptional repressor of the c-myb promoter and binds to both the double-stranded and T:H:H:T G-quadruplex-folded conformations of the GGA repeat region of the c-myb promoter.The hTERT core promoter contains a G-rich region of 12 consecutive G-tracts, which includes three critical Sp1 binding sites. Although this G-rich region has the potential to form multiple G-quadruplexes, our investigation on the full-length G-rich sequence demonstrate that the G-rich region forms a unique G-quadruplex structure in which two tandem intramolecular G-quadruplex structures are present, consisted of one G-quadruplex formed by the G-tracts 1-4 and the other formed by the G-tracts 5, 6, 11, and 12. We also demonstrate that the latter unusual structure contains a 26-base middle loop that likely forms a hairpin structure and is more stable than the other conventional G-quadruplex. Significantly, the formation of this unusual tandem G-quadruplex structure in the full-length will disable all three critical Sp1 binding sites, which will dramatically downregulate hTERT expression. G-quadruplex formation in the hTERT promoter suggests that the effect of G-quadruplex interactive ligands on telomerase inhibition and telomere shortening may be exerted by the direct interaction between the hTERT G-quadruplex structure and the ligands.

Suppression of oncogenes transcription represents an ideal tool to integrate the currently available therapeutics to treat several cancer types and to overcome the potential occurrence of resistance. An experimentally validated mechanism of intervention is represented by the induction/stabilization of G-quadruplex structures in genes promoter by small molecules. G-quadruplexes are DNA non-canonical secondary structures consisting of stacked G-quartets, cyclic arrangements of four guanine residues held together by Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds and stabilized by a central cation. At the moment, none of the identified G-quadruplex ligands reached the clinic. Several reasons can contribute to this poor outcome comprising both the plastic structural features of nucleic acids and the multiple metabolic pathways which might be affected when a small molecule interacts with G-quadruplex structures. Thus, one of the major issues lies on the proper structural analysis of targeted G-quadruplex. To overcome this bias, in this Ph.D.’s thesis kinetic and thermodynamic behaviours of G-quadruplexes have been characterized to obtain an improved description of these structures as potential pharmaceutical targets. The study has been focused on G-rich sequences within c-KIT and EGFR oncogene promoters. By applying a set of complementary structural and biophysical approaches, the folding pathways of these G-quadruplexes and influence of flanking regions in terms of structural stability and folding rearrangement have been described. The obtained information indicates that the promoter architecture might be not properly derived by analysis of minimal G-quadruplex forming sequences at the thermodynamic equilibrium, commonly used for screening assayes. Indeed, reported data suggest the existence of different unique mechanisms/pathways involved in the regulation of these oncogenes transcription which comprise kinetically favored folding intermediates or unprecedented structural arrangements. The final outcome of Ph.D.‘s project is a deeper understanding of nucleic acid tridimensional arrangement of EGFR and c-KIT promoters which might help in setting up new drug-design programs based on models of G-quadruplex target more closely related to the physiological ones.

The present manuscript contains a report of the research activity conducted for the Ph.D. project regarding the study of DNA G-quadruplex structures in a rare type of human cancer (Liposarcoma) and in the genome of two world-wide spread viruses: HIV-1 and HSV-1.
Il manuscritto contiene una descrizione e discussione dei risultati ottenuti in ambito del progetto di ricerca di dottorato riguardante lo studio delle strutture G-quadruplex delDNA in un tumore umani raro (il liposarcoma) e nel genoma di due virus a diffusione mondiale, quali: HIV-1 e HSV-1.

In this dissertation, we explore the transcriptional regulatory roles of Gquadruplex- forming motifs and the involvement of specific transcriptional factors, which interact with the same elements, in the control of human c-myc and bcl-2 gene expression. The G-quadruplex structures within the NHE III1 region of the c-myc promoter and their ability to repress transcription has been well established. However, a longstanding unanswered question is how these stable DNA secondary structures are transformed to activate c-myc transcription. NDPK-B has been recognized as an activator of c-myc transcription via interactions with NHE III1 region of the c-myc gene promoter. Through the use of RNAi, we confirmed the transcriptional regulatory role of NDPK-B. We demonstrate that NDPK-B has DNA binding activity and the nuclease activity results from a contaminating protein. NDPK-B preferentially binds to the singlestranded guanine-rich strand of the c-myc NHE III₁. Potassium ions and G-quadruplexinteractive agents, which stabilize G-quadruplex structures, had an inhibitory effect on NDPK-B DNA binding activity. Based on our studies, we have proposed a stepwise trapping-out of the NHE III1 region in a single-stranded form, thus allowing singlestranded transcription factors to bind and activate c-myc transcription. This model provides a rationale for how the stabilization of G-quadruplexes within the c-myc gene promoter region can inhibit NDPK-B from activating c-myc transcription. Similarly, the human bcl-2 gene contains a GC-rich region within its promoter region, which is critical in the regulation of bcl-2 expression. We demonstrate that the guanine rich strand within this region can form three intramolecular G-quadruplex structures. Based on NMR studies, the central G-quadruplex forms a mixed parallel/antiparallel structure with three tetrads connected by loops of one, seven, and three bases. The Gquadruplex structures in the bcl-2 promoter extends beyond the ability to form any one of three separate G-quadruplexes to each having the capacity to form either three or six different loop isomers. This suggests that targeting these individual structures could lead to different biological outcomes. We also found that Telomestatin upregulates bcl-2 gene expression, which we propose is a result of inhibiting the binding of the WT1 repressor protein by the formation of a drug-stabilized G-quadruplex structure.

The discovery of new anticancer targets is the key factor for the development of more efficacious therapies. Sequence selective binding of double stranded DNA in the classical B form has been extensively employed to target small molecules to defined polynucleotide portions. More recently, ligand recognition of non canonical DNA foldings has been additionally considered a useful approach to selectively target distinct genomic regions. In this connection, G-quadruplexes represent an interesting system since they are believed to be physiologically significant arrangements. These non-canonical DNA structures are found at the ends of the human chromosomes (telomeres) as well as at promoter regions of several oncogenes where there is a cluster of guanine-rich sequences and they are likely to play important roles in the regulation of biological events. The induction and stabilization of the G-quadruplex arrangement by small molecules can lead to the inhibition of the telomerase activity by interfering with the interaction of the enzyme and its single stranded template. A similar molecular mechanism is likely involved in the transcriptional control that leads to the suppression of the oncogene transcription and, ultimately, in the regulation of the gene expression. As a result, the quadruplex topic is very attractive for the development of a specific anticancer strategy defined by a dramatic reduction of side effects, typical of chemotherapy. The purpose of this work is to investigate the interactions between novel classes of small molecules and different quadruplex DNA sequences and conformations. These new molecules were properly designed providing systematic atom-wise substitutions based on rational evaluations of previous studied compounds in order to increase their selectivity for G-quadruplex structures and to reduce toxic effects. Biophysical and biological properties of all new derivatives are herein evaluated at molecular and cellular level. The thesis work is divided into three main sections based on the structural features of the compounds object of study. The first part focuses on heterocyclic dications: upon changing their molecular binding shape, a correlation with G-quadruplex binding have been drawn. In particular it was possible to rationalize a shift in the binding modes, in particular between end stacking and groove recognition. Nevertheless a correlation between biophysical (G-quadruplex affinity) and biological (telomerase inhibition and cytotoxicity) results was not always clear. This feature may suggest the involvement of cellular targets different from the telomere and that are now under investigation. In Chapter 3, the DNA binding properties of some phenantroline derivatives in presence and in absence of Ni(II) and Cu(II) are investigated. We confirmed that different complex geometries involving one, two or three ligands per metal ion can affect the pattern of DNA recognition by driving nucleic acid conformational changes. Finally, in Chapter 4 some transplatin derivatives are evaluated. We focused our attention on defining the compounds capability to form adducts, with the nucleic acids, the nature of adducts and the kinetics of adduct formation not only on double strand DNA but also using single strand as well as G-quadruplex as targets. The results showed how different structural modifications can cooperate to greatly affect the potential interaction of the compounds. Interestingly it turned out their preference to react on single stranded DNA portions than to double stranded ones. This is probably due to an unfavourable orientation of the reactive groups when the molecule interacts with the DNA substrate. As a result, they appear to crosslink unpaired strands. By extending these results at cellular level they can reflect distinct distribution of platination site along the genome in comparison to cisplatin and even transplatin. The results obtained increment the available knowledge of DNA-small molecules interaction. In particular it emerged that a conserved interaction mode is consistent with biological effects. On the other hand, a shift in the binding mode can drive to different cytotoxic effects. This can provide a rationale for subsequent drug structure optimization leading to the development of new efficient and selective anticancer agents.
La scoperta di nuovi target anticancro è il fattore chiave per lo sviluppo di terapie sempre più efficaci. Lo studio del legame selettivo a sequenze di DNA a doppia elica nella classica forma B è stato largamente impiegato al fine di direzionare piccole molecole verso porzioni polinucleotidiche definite. Più recentemente, il riconoscimento (da parte di ligandi) di porzioni non canoniche di DNA si può tradurre in un metodo vantaggioso per indirizzare questi composti verso regioni distinte del genoma. A tale proposito, le strutture G-quadruplex rappresentano un sistema interessante poiché sono ritenute fisiologicamente significative. Queste strutture “non-canoniche” di DNA si trovano alle estremità del cromosoma (telomeri) così come in varie regioni promotrici di oncogeni in cui vi è un’abbondante presenza di residui guaninici e sembrano coinvolte nella regolazione di importanti eventi biologici. Pare infatti che l'induzione e la stabilizzazione di strutture G-quadruplex dalle parte di piccole molecole porti all'inibizione dell'attività della telomerasi interferendo con l'interazione tra l’enzima e il suo substrato a singola catena. Un simile meccanismo molecolare è probabilmente coinvolto anche nel controllo della regolazione dell'espressione genica e può portare alla soppressione della trascrizione di un oncogene. Di conseguenza, “l’approccio G-quadruplex” si rivela molto interessante per lo sviluppo di una strategia anticancro specifica caratterizzata anche da una riduzione drammatica degli effetti collaterali, tipici della chemioterapia. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è lo studio delle interazioni tra nuove famiglie di piccole molecole e diverse conformazioni di DNA G-quadruplex. Queste nuove molecole sono state opportunamente progettate apportando sostituzioni di atomi o gruppi funzionali basate sulla valutazione di composti precedentemente studiati al fine di aumentare la loro selettività per strutture G-quadruplex e di ridurre gli effetti tossici. Le proprietà biofisiche e biologiche di tutti i nuovi derivati sono state valutate al livello molecolare e cellulare. Il lavoro di tesi si divide in tre parti in base alle caratteristiche strutturali dei composti. La prima parte è dedicata alla studio di dicationi eterociclici: si è cercato correlare modifiche nella conformazione molecolare con l’affinita’ verso strutture G-quadruplex. In particolare è stato possibile razionalizzare cambiamenti della modalità di legame in base alla struttura dei composti esaminati. Tuttavia una correlazione fra i risultati biofisici (affinità G-quadruplex) e biologici (inibizione della telomerasi e citotossicità) non è risultata sempre definita. Ciò può suggerire il coinvolgimento di bersagli cellulari diversi dal telomero umano. Nel capitolo 3, sono state studiate le proprietà di legame al DNA di alcuni derivati fenantrolinici in presenza ed in assenza di Ni (II) e Cu (II). Abbiamo confermato che complessi caratterizzati da diverse geometrie che coinvolgono una, due o tre molecole per ione possono compromettere o meno il riconoscimento del DNA o determinare cambiamenti conformazionali dell'acido nucleico. Per concludere, il capitolo 4 è dedicato allo studio di derivati del transplatino. In particolare ci siamo focalizzati nel definire la capacità dei composti di formare addotti, la natura dei complessi e la cinetica di formazione del complesso non solo con DNA a doppio filamento ma utilizzando anche substrati a singola catena come il G-quadruplex. I risultati hanno dimostrato come diverse modifiche strutturali possano avere un ruolo importante nell’interazione dei composti con gli acidi nucleici. E’ risultata interessante la loro preferenzialità a reagire con porzioni di DNA a singolo filamento rispetto a sequenze a doppia elica. Ciò è probabilmente dovuto ad uno sfavorevole orientamento dei gruppi reattivi quando la molecola interagisce con il substrato di DNA. Di conseguenza, i composti sembrano formare un cross-link tra due filamenti non appaiati. A livello cellulare, questi risultati riflettono una distinta distribuzione del sito di platinazione all’interno del genoma rispetto al cisplatino e perfino rispetto al transplatino. I risultati ottenuti incrementano la conoscenza disponibile sull’interazione tra DNA e piccole molecole. In particolare è emerso che la conservazione della modalità di interazione si correla con effetti biologici definiti. Al contrario, una variazione della modalità di legame può portare a effetti citotossici differenti. Ciò può fornire una spiegazione razionale per una successiva ottimizzazione della struttura dei composti finalizzata allo sviluppo di nuovi agenti antitumorali efficaci e selettivi.

Les G-quadruplexes (G4) sont des structures d'acides nucléiques non-canoniques formées par des séquences riches en Guanines (G) principalement localisées dans les telomères et les régions promotrices des oncogènes. Elles sont constituées de l'empilement de plusieurs tétrades de G en présence de cations. En utilisant la spectroscopie par RMN, nous avons caractérisé l'interaction entre le ligand TAP et le G4 télomérique humain constituée de la séquence d(AG3(T2AG3)3). CD et RMN 1D 1H ont été utilisés pour suivre l'interaction entre les deux partenaires. RMN 2D a été utilisé pour attribuer sans ambiguïté toutes les résonances de 1H dans le complexe et d'explorer le site d'interaction. Un modèle illustrant l'interaction de TAP avec 22AG au niveau des sillons et boucles a été généré. Une autre partie de ce travail consiste en l'étude du G4 tétra-moléculaire formé par TG4T et son interaction avec des ligands G4 par la RMN dans les cellules. Des spectres 1H-15N HMQC ont été effectués à l'intérieur de Xenopus laevis et les lysats des cellules HeLa et comparés avec ceux observés dans les conditions in vitro ce qui a montré une bonne stabilité de G4 à l'intérieur de la cellule. En outre, l'interaction de d [TG4T]4 avec des ligands spécifiques de G4 présentant trois différents modes d'interaction a également été étudiée. Le ligand 360A a montré un comportement prometteur. Enfin, dans la dernière partie, différentes séquences de promoteur Kras ont été criblés par RMN pour sélectionner des candidats pour la détermination de structure haute résolution. Deux séquences différentes ont été sélectionnées et caractérisées par spectroscopie CD. La stabilisation des structures G4 formées par ces séquences en interaction avec différents ligands a également été étudiée. Une titration RMN 1D 1H entre 22RT et le ligand Braco19 a montré un comportement intéressant de k-ras G4 par la formation d'espèces intermédiaires lors de l'addition de Braco19
G-quadruplexes (G4) are non-canonical nucleic acid structures formed by G-rich sequences mainly localized in telomeres and promoter regions of oncogenes. They are built from the stacking of several G-quartets in the presence of cations. Using NMR spectroscopy, we have characterized the interaction between the TAP ligand and the human telomeric G4 formed by the sequence d(AG3(T2AG3)3). CD and 1D 1H NMR spectroscopy were used to follow the interaction between the two partners. 2D NMR was used to assign unambiguously all 1H resonances in the complex and to explore the binding site. A model depicting the interaction of TAP with 22AG in grooves and loops was generated. Another part of this work consists in the study of tetramolecular G4 formed by TG4T and its interaction with G4 ligands by in-cell NMR. 1H-15N HMQC spectra were performed inside Xenopus laevis and HeLa cell lysates compared to those observed in vitro conditions showing a good stability of G4 inside the cell. Furthermore, the interaction of d[TG4T]4 with three G4 specific ligands presenting different mode of interaction was also investigated. The ligand 360A showed a promising behavior. Finally, in the last part, different sequences of Kras promoter were screened by NMR to select good candidates for high resolution structure determination. Two different sequences were selected and characterized by CD spectroscopy. The stabilization of G4 structures formed by these sequences in interaction with different ligands was also investigated. A 1D 1H NMR titration between Braco19 and 22RT showed an interesting behavior of k-ras G4 by the formation of intermediate species upon the addition of Braco19

Des structures secondaires d’acides nucléiques atypiques, les structures G-quadruplex, peuvent se former autour d’un cation (K+ ou Na+) dans les régions riches en guanines, grâce à une association de type Hoogsteen. La formation de ces structures est impliquée dans de nombreux mécanismes biologiques, comme la réplication, la transcription ou l’épissage. Elles peuvent affecter l’architecture de l’ADN jusqu’au niveau de la chromatine et provoquer une instabilité importante, tant génétique qu’épigénétique. De nombreuses méthodes ont été développées afin de détecter ces structures in vivo et de comprendre leurs implications au niveau cellulaire. Cependant, le panel d’outils moléculaires disponible actuellement ne permet pas une exploration du génome complète et sélective. Nous avons souhaité développer des outils, capables de sonder efficacement un milieu biologique complexe à la recherche de structures G-quadruplex et d’évaluer le potentiel d’une stratégie thérapeutique anti-tumorale ciblant ces structures. Nous avons mis au point un panel de composés combinant des ligands d’ADN G-quadruplex (PDC, PhenDC3 et Métal-ttpy) avec une biotine et un groupement photoactivable, permettant la capture et l’extraction de structures G-quadruplex de milieux biologiques complexes. Les ligands ont été évalués grâce aux techniques de FID et de FRET-melting, et sélectionnés pour leur affinité mais aussi pour leur affinité pour l’ADN G-quadruplex, assurant un ciblage efficace. Il a également été possible de piéger directement une séquence G-quadruplex en utilisant un complexe de platine, formant un adduit métallique avec les bases de l’ADN. Grâce ce type de ligand d’ADN G-quadruplex, la liaison de coordination métallique joue le rôle de marqueur covalent. Nous avons déterminé sur gel d’électrophorèse la localisation des adduits formés par des complexes dérivés du tolylterpyridine-platine (Pt-ttpy) et étudié la cinétique de platination de l’ADN G-quadruplex. La fonctionnalisation du complexe Pt-ttpy par des groupements photoactivables a permis de réaliser un double-ancrage covalent dans une structure d’ADN G-quadruplex. Par ailleurs, la fonctionnalisation avec un fluorophore a conduit aux premières évaluations en milieu cellulaire.Enfin, notre panel de composés a été testé dans des conditions de capture supportée d’ADN G-quadruplex. Une mise au point de la technique de capture a été réalisée en utilisant des billes magnétiques recouvertes de streptavidine. Les expériences de capture sur billes ont montré que l’efficacité de nos outils varie en fonction de la topologie de la structure G-quadruplex ciblée et du ligand utilisé. Par ailleurs, le groupement photoactivable introduit sur certains de ces outils n’a pas permis d’améliorer la capture d’ADN G-quadruplex. Cependant, il a été possible d’utiliser ces outils en présence d’ADN génomique pour capturer efficacement de fragments d’ADN télomérique, par effet G-quadruplex
Nucleic acids secondary structures may form in guanine-rich regions by Hoogsteen base-pairing around a cation (K+ or Na+) and stacking of guanine quartets. Those nucleic acid secondary structures called G-quadruplex are believed to play regulatory roles in the main functions related to DNA processing. However, although numerous sequences, potentially forming G4-structures are present in genomes, evidence concerning their in vivo formation and biological role remains limited. Primary aim of our research is to provide new chemical biology tools for evaluating the biological impacts of quadruplexes and the potential of our compounds for quadruplex-targeted anticancer therapy. We have synthetized a set of compounds equipped with biotin and cross linking moieties in order to trap and pull-down G4-structures in various cellular contexts. The G4-ligands (PDC, PhenDC3 and Metal-ttpy) were evaluated thanks to FID and FRET-melting assays, and carefully chosen to efficiently target G-quadruplexes but also to display enough selectivity for cellular assays. Direct trapping of a G-quadruplex structures can also be done by metal complexes, thanks to coordination with DNA bases. Platinum tolylterpyridine derivatives have been studied on gel electrophoresis to map the platination sites and to evaluate the kinetics of the phenomenon. By adding photo crosslinking moieties to Pt-ttpy, efficient double-anchoring has been done on DNA G-quadruplex structure. Moreover, first cellular imaging evaluations were done by adding a fluorophore to this platinum tolylterpyridine complex. To eventually probe quadruplex DNA at the genome-wide scale, full control of the trapping protocol is indeed a key step. Full development of the pull-down step has been done, using streptavidin-coated magnetic beads. On-beads experiments indicate that efficacy of trapping can vary dramatically depending on quadruplex and G4-ligand topologies. Moreover, photo crosslinking moiety, introduced on some compounds, has not shown any improvement of the trapping. However, the development of this method and the design of the capture compounds have led to an optimal isolation of telomeric G-quadruplex forming sequences, from genomic DNA

The G-quadruplex DNA is a four-stranded DNA structure that is highly susceptible to oxidation due to its G-rich sequence and its structure. Oxidative DNA base damages can be mutagenic or lethal to cells if they are left unrepaired. The base excision repair (BER) pathway is the predominant pathway for repair of oxidized DNA bases. DNA glycosylases are the first enzymes in BER and are responsible for removing base lesions from DNA. How DNA glycosylases remove base lesions from duplex and single-stranded DNA has been intensively studied, while how they act on G-quadruplex DNA remains to be explored. In Chapter II of this dissertation, we studied the glycosylase activity of the five mammalian DNA glycosylases (OGG1, NTH1, NEIL1, NEIL2 and mouse Neil3) on G-quadruplex DNA formed by telomere sequences that contain a single base lesion. We found that telomeric sequences that contain thymine glycol (Tg), 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG), guanidinohydantoin (Gh) or spiroiminodihydantoin (Sp) all formed the basket form of an antiparallel G-quadruplex DNA structure in Na+ solution. We also showed that no glycosylase was able to remove 8-oxoG from quadruplex DNA, while its further oxidation products, Sp and Gh, were good substrates for mNeil3 and NEIL1 in quadruplex DNA. In addition, mNeil3 is the only enzyme that removes Tg from quadruplex DNA and the glycosylase strongly prefers Tg in the telomere sequence context in both single-stranded and double-stranded DNA. In Chapter III, we extended our study to telomeric G-quadruplex DNA in K+ solution and we also studied quadruplex DNA formed by promoter sequences. We found that 8-oxoG, Gh and Sp reduce the thermostability and alter the folding of telomeric quadruplex DNA in a location-dependent manner. Also, the NEIL1 and NEIL3 DNA glycosylases are able to remove hydantoin lesions but none of the glycosylases, including OGG1, are able to remove 8-oxoG from telomeric quadruplex DNA in K+ solution. Interestingly, NEIL1 or NEIL3 do not efficiently remove hydantoin lesions at the site that is most prone to oxidation in quadruplex DNA. However, hydantoin lesions at the same site in quadruplex DNA are removed much more rapidly by NEIL1, NEIL2 and NEIL3, when an extra telomere TTAGGG repeat is added to the commonly studied four-repeat quadruplex DNA to make it a five-repeat telomere quadruplex DNA. We also show that APE1 cleaves furan in selected positions in Na+-coordinated telomeric quadruplex DNA structures. We use promoter sequences of the VEGF and c-MYC genes as models to study promoter G-quadruplex DNA structures, and show that the NEIL glycosylases primarily remove Gh from Na+-coordinated antiparallel quadruplex DNA but not from K+-coordinated parallel quadruplex DNA containing VEGF or c-MYC promoter sequences. Taken together, our data show that the NEIL DNA glycosylases may be involved in both telomere maintenance and gene regulation.

Human telomeric DNA consists of tandem repeats of the sequence 5'-d(TTAGGG)-3' assembled into a nucleoprotein complex that functions to protect the ends of chromosomes. Such guanine-rich DNA is capable of forming a variety of G-quadruplexes, which in turn, can have varying functional consequences on telomere maintenance. G-quadruplex stabilizing ligands have been shown to induce chromosome end-to-end fusions, senescence and apoptosis, effects similar to the expression of a dominant-negative TTAGGG Repeat Factor 2 (TRF2). With this in mind, we analyzed the effect of sequence and length of human telomeric DNA, as well as cation conditions on G-quadruplex formation by native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and circular dichroism. We show that K+ and Sr2+ can induce human telomeric DNA to form both inter- and intramolecular structures. Circular dichroism results suggest that the structures in K+ were a mix of parallel and antiparallel G-quadruplexes, while Sr2+ induced only parallel-stranded structures. We also found that TRF2, a protein essential for telomere maintenance, affects G-quadruplex structure. These structures serve as useful models to study the effects of G-quadruplexes on the activities of telomeric proteins, like TRF2, from human cells. The G-strand overhang at the ends of telomeres may periodically adopt at least some of these quadruplex conformations, which could subsequently affect protein binding and telomere function. TRF2, a protein essential for telomere maintenance, is not known to bind single-strand (ss) DNA, work performed in the lab suggested that the type of 3'-overhang in telomeric DNA ss/ds-junctions affects TRF2-binding. Specifically, preventing G-quadruplex formation by changing the overhang sequence from 5'-d(TTAGGG)4-3', to 5'-dTTAGGG(TTAGAG)2TTAGGG-3', reduced TRF2 recruitment to the ss/ds-junction from HeLa cell extracts. Using the same techniques as above, we show that the N-terminal basic domain of TRF2 in K+ induces a switch from the mixed parallel/antiparallel-stranded G-quadruplexes usually stabilized by K+-alone, to parallel-stranded G-quadruplexes. Interestingly, it also promotes intermolecular parallel G-quadruplex formation on non-quadruplex, single-stranded intermediates, but will not induce a switch from an antiparallel to a parallel G-quadruplex in Na+. These results are the first to demonstrate specific TRF2 G-quadruplex interactions, suggesting a novel mechanism for TRF2 recognition of the ds/ss junction of telomeres.

The structure, occurrence and biological relevance of G-quadruplex DNA structures has been reviewed, along with a review of several notable G-quadruplex binding compounds published in the literature to date. The synthetic route towards two G-quadruplex DNA binders previously developed within the Hannon group has been modified and improved. Electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry studies have been carried out to evaluate nucleotide binding. The in vitro biological activities of these compounds have been validated against the human ovarian carcinoma cell line A2780 via MTT and comet assays, flow cytometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Both compounds and the corresponding metal-free ligand exhibited higher drug efficiencies than cisplatin against A2780 cells. Both compounds display mild genotoxicity and induce G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. The overall cellular uptake and nuclear localisation demonstrated by both complexes exceeds that of cisplatin. A new class of palladium and platinum(II) complexes have been synthesised from methylthio-substituted terpyridine ligands. In addition to assessing their stability in solution via UV-Vis spectroscopy, initial DNA binding studies with both duplex and quadruplex-forming sequences of DNA have been carried out via circular dichroism and gel electrophoresis. The design and synthesis of alternative ligand systems proffering a range of desirable characteristics to aid future ligand and complex development has been investigated.

G-quadruplex secondary structures are four-stranded globular nucleic acid structures that form in specific DNA and RNA G-rich sequences with biological significance, such as those found in human telomeres, oncogene promoter regions, replication initiation sites, and 5’- and 3’-untranslated (UTR) regions, which have been identified as novel drug targets. The non-canonical G-quadruplex secondary structures readily form under physiologically relevant ionic conditions, and exhibit great diversity in their topologies and loop conformations depending on the DNA or RNA sequences at hand. The structural diversity of these unique secondary structures is essential to their specific recognition by different regulatory proteins or small molecule compounds. A significant amount of research has been done in this field that provides compelling evidence for the existence, biological significance, and potential druggability of G-quadruplexes. In this dissertation, I explore G-quadruplex formation in the promoters of BCL2, PDGFR-β and c-Myc oncogenes and their interactions with small molecule compounds or proteins. Firstly, I investigated a newly-identified G-quadruplex (P1G4) forming immediately upstream of the human BCL2 gene, which has been found to be overexpressed in several human tumors. In this research, I have found that P1G4 acts as a transcription repressor, and that its inhibitory effect can be enriched by the G-quadruplex-interactive compound, TMPyP4. Both P1G4 and the previously reported Pu39 G-quadruplexes form independently in adjacent regions within the BCL2 P1 promoter, but P1G4 appears to play a more dominant role in repressing transcriptional activity. NMR and CD studies have shown that the P1G4 G-quadruplex appears to comprise a novel dynamic equilibrium of two parallel structures, one regular, with two 1-nt loops and a 12-nt middle loop, and another broken-stranded, with three 1-nt loops and an 11-nt middle loop; both structures adopt a novel hairpin (stem-loop duplex) conformation in the long central loop. This dynamic equilibrium of two closely-related G-quadruplex structures with a unique hairpin loop conformation may provide a specific target for small molecules to modulate BCL2 gene transcription. I also explored the 3’ end G-quadruplex that forms within the core promoter of PDGFR-β, which has also been observed to be present at abnormal levels in a variety of clinical pathologies, including malignancies. The 3′-end G-quadruplex formed in the PDGFR-β promoter NHE appears to be selectively stabilized by an ellipticine analog, GSA1129, which can shift the dynamic equilibrium in the full-length sequence to favor the 3′-end G-quadruplex, and can repress PDGFR-β activity in cancer cell lines. NMR studies in combination with biophysical experiments have shown that in the wild-type extended 3ʼ-end NHE sequences, two novel intramolecular G-quadruplexes can be formed in a potassium solution, one with a 3’-flanking distant guanine inserted into the 3’-external tetrad (3’-insertion G-quadruplex), and another with a 5’-flanking distant guanine inserted into the 5’-external tetrad (5’-insertion G-quadruplex). Further investigation of the elongated PDGFR-β 3′-end sequence containing both the 5’- and 3’- flanking guanine sequences showed the formation of a combination of the two G-quadruplexes existing in equilibrium. Importantly, it was observed that GSA1129 can bind to and increase the stability of each of the end-insertion G-quadruplexes, raising their Tₘ by 25 degrees. This study highlights the dynamic nature of the 3′-end NHE sequence and the importance of identifying the proper sequence for the formation of biologically relevant G-quadruplex structures. Significantly, the dynamic nature of the 3′-end G-quadruplex suggests that it may be an attractive target for drug regulation. I then analyzed two proteins, Nucleolin and NM23-H2, which interact with the c-Myc G-quadruplex structure that forms in the proximal promoter region of the c-Myc gene; this is one of the most commonly deregulated genes in the human neoplasm. Nucleolin is known to be a transcriptional repressor for c-Myc, binding to and stabilizing the c-Myc G-quadruplex, whereas NM23-H2 is known to be a transcriptional activator that unwinds and destabilizes the c-Myc G-quadruplex. An investigation of the molecular mechanisms of the interaction between the c-Myc G-quadruplex and nucleolin showed that the minimal binding domains required for a tight binding of the protein to the c-Myc G-quadruplex are the four RNA binding domains (RBDs) of nucleolin, referred to as Nuc1234, and that the RGG domain is unnecessary for c-Myc G-quadruplex binding. The stable G-quadruplex formed within Pu27 using G-tract runs I, II, IV and V was determined to be the best substrate (Myc1245T) for nucleolin binding, showing the highest affinity. 3D NMR experiments performed on the free protein Nuc1234 and its complex with the Myc1245T G-quadruplex have shown that upon complex formation, only the disordered linker regions of the protein display significant chemical shift changes, whereas most other residues show chemical shift values similar to those of the free protein. The c-Myc G-quadruplex has three loops that flip outward in a solvent containing K⁺, according to its structure. The hypothesis for this association is that nucleolin wraps around the G-quadruplex and interacts specifically with the flipped-outward loop regions of the c-Myc G-quadruplex via its own inter-RBD linker regions, with little structural change in the RBDs themselves. A definitive determination of the 3D molecular structure of nucleolin and its complex with Myc1245T is currently in development. Biophysical and structural studies were then conducted to investigate the interactions of the protein NM23-H2/NDP kinase B with the c-Myc G-quadruplex. NM23-H2 binds to single-stranded guanine- and cytosine-rich sequences, but not to double-stranded DNA in the NHE III₁ region; the binding therefore appears structure-specific, rather than sequence-specific. Moreover, increasing concentrations of the strong G-quadruplex-interactive compound TMPyP4, a porphyrin-based drug, inhibits the binding of NM23-H2 to the NHE III₁ region; this suggests that the stabilization of the G-quadruplex hinders the recognition and remodeling function of the NM23-H2. By conducting Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) assays in combination with Circular Dichroism (CD) studies, I demonstrated that NM23-H2 can actively resolve the c-Myc G-quadruplex. Taken together, these results show that the use of small molecules to prevent NM23-H2 from binding to and resolving the NHE III₁ region G-quadruplex may have the potential to inhibit c-Myc transcription for cancer therapeutic purposes. This underlines the importance of understanding the mechanism of function operating between NM23-H2 and the c-Myc G-quadruplex. Understanding molecular mechanism between NM23-H2 and c-Myc is under investigation.

Genomic complexity in non-Hodgkin’s Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) leads to a treatment failure in ~40% of patients. Activation-Induced Cytosine Deaminase (AID), one of the enzymes involved in generating antibody diversity via class switching recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM) of immunoglobulin (Ig) genes in activated B-cells is one mechanism for the introduction of genomic lesions. In previous studies, AID was shown to preferentially bind to super-enhancer (SE) regions within the genome, but 26% of AID targets were not within the SE regions. The mechanism by which AID interacts with SE elements and its off-target interactions still remains a mystery. Recent evidence suggests that AID may cause genomic lesions in DLBCL via interaction with oncogenes such as MYC and BCL2 resulting in mutations and translocations. Sequences within the MYC promoter contain the four-nucleotide AID target sequence (WRCY) and highly G-rich sequences known to form G-quadruplex DNA secondary structures. We hypothesize that key DNA secondary structures act as recruiting elements for aberrant AID activity at promoters and SEs of key genes involved in the development of DLBCL. Here, we first sought to determine whether known AID DNA targets have the potential to form G-quadruplex DNA secondary structures. The data collected from activated mouse B-cells showed 90% of the AID targets contained sequences that could potentially form G-quadruplexes and the data collected from the human Ramos cell line showed 100% of the sequences had the potential to form G-quadruplexes. To further study our hypothesis we used the techniques circular dichroism (CD) and the electrophoresis motility shift assay (EMSA) to explore the potential interaction between AID and the BCL2 and MYC G-quadruplexes. We observed no significant interactions between AID and these two G-quadruplexes, however further experimentation with different conditions and molecular techniques may show interaction. Additional studies will not only provide key insight into the genomic instability within DLBCL, but will also provide a potential mechanism by which AID is recruited to its DNA targets.

Guanine-rich nucleic acids can fold into distinctive four-stranded G-quadruplex structures which are found in telomeric DNA repeats as well as in sequences in the promoter and other regulatory regions of genes, especially those involved in cellular proliferation. Small molecules that can selectively bind and stabilize the G-quadruplex structure have become of significant interest to researchers, and are gaining momentum as a possible new class of anticancer agents. This project was based on a previously reported series of novel biaryl polyamides with significant selectively toward G-quadruplexes compared to duplex DNA, and with modest selectivity between different quadruplex types. Using a distamycin scaffold as a starting point, biaryl building blocks were introduced in place of pyrroles to switch preference from duplex to quadruplex DNA. This alteration in shape ensured that the molecules had low affinity for duplex DNA while increasing their interaction with a G-quadruplex structure since the ligands have similar 3D structures. The main aim of this project was to modify the structure of the previously reported biaryl polyamides (with the help of a molecular modelling based approach) through the incorporation of benzofused building blocks to improve their affinity for G-quadruplexes, while further reducing their affinity for duplex DNA, thereby enhancing their selectivity for quadruplex DNA. A small, focused benzofused-polyamide library (18 molecules) was initially synthesized and evaluated for the ability of members to stabilize G-quadruplex structures using a FRET-based DNA thermal denaturation assay and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. However, these compounds failed to stabilize the F21T (human telomeric G-quadruplex), c-Kit quadruplexes and Bcl-2 quadruplexes, and MD simulations suggested that the shape of the molecules required further modification to facilitate quadruplex interaction. A second library of molecules (43 in total) was then designed and synthesized using a molecular modelling-based approach. In this series, the shape of the polyamide fragment was changed, while retaining the original scaffold, by introducing benzofused moieties with 3,5-substitutions. Evaluation of these molecules in the same FRET assay showed a notable increase in stabilization of the F21T quadruplex for many library members. For example, compounds 4.93 and 4.71 stabilized the quadruplex by 15°C and 17°C, respectively (at 1 μM concentration), while showing insignificant affinity for duplex DNA. Moreover a third set of benzofused polyamides (9 in total) has been synthesized by the addition of two consecutive benzofused moieties instead of three consecutive benzofused moieties for the ideal length of G-quadruplex DNA targeting ligand molecules. These molecules were also evaluated by the same FRET-based DNA thermal denaturation assay. The overall data showed that benzofused polyamides made of three consecutive benzofused moieties had a specific curvature which improved their G-quadruplex interacting capacities compared to those with two consecutive benzofused moieties. Cytotoxicity studies were undertaken on MDA-MB-231 and HeLa cell lines and some library members are active at the low micromolar level. Molecule 4.45 has emerged as a lead compound, possessing a cytotoxicity of 40nM in MDA-MB-231. Given their low molecular weight (between 422-646 Daltons), reasonable water solubility and good cellular penetration properties compared to other known G-quadruplex inhibitors which are mostly non-drug-like, molecules of this type have the potential to be developed into both reagents that can probe DNA structure and into novel quadruplex-targeting therapeutic agents.

Angiogenesis is known to be induced and maintained in tumors by the constant expression of the hypoxia inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1α) and human vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In fact, tumor recurrence, aggressive metastatic legions and patient mortality rates are known to be positively correlated with overexpression of these two proteins. The HIF-1α and VEGF promoters contain a polypurine/polypyrimidine (pPu/pPy) tract, which are known to play critical roles in their transcriptional regulation, and are structurally dynamic where they can undergo a conformational transition between B-DNA, single stranded DNA and atypical secondary DNA structures such as G-quadruplexes and i-motifs. We hypothesize that the i-motif and G-quadruplex structures can form within the pPu/pPy tracts of the HIF-1α and VEGF proximal promoters, which play important roles in the transcriptional regulation of these genes by acting as scaffolds for alternative transcription factor binding sites. The purpose of this dissertation was to elucidate the transcriptional regulation of the HIF-1α and VEGF genes through the atypical DNA structures that form within the pPu/pPy tracts of their proximal promoters. We investigated the interaction of the C-rich and guanine-rich (G-rich) strands of both of these tracts with transcription factors heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) K and nucleolin, respectively, both in vitro and in vivo and their potential role in the transcriptional control of HIF-1α and VEGF. In this dissertation, we demonstrate that both nucleolin and hnRNP K bind selectively to the G- and C-rich sequences, respectively, in the pPu/pPy tract of the HIF-1α and VEGF promoters. Specifically, the small interfering RNA-mediated silencing of either nucleolin or hnRNP K resulted in the down-regulation of basal VEGF gene, and the opposite effect was seen when the transcription factors were overexpressed, suggesting that they act as activators of VEGF transcription. Taken together, the identification of transcription factors that can recognize and bind to atypical DNA structures within pPu/pPy tracts will provide new insight into mechanisms of transcriptional regulation of the HIF-1α and VEGF gene.

The folding of DNA molecule into non-canonical secondary structures has been shown to be implicated in many important biological processes which regulate cell proliferation and proteins expression. In particular one of these peculiar secondary structures, called G-quadruplex (G4), has been shown to potentially impair cancer development. G4 occurs along DNA sequences rich of consecutive guanines which can fold through Hoostein pairs by forming stacked planes of guanines tetrads. This conformation prevalently forms along the termini of chromosomes (telomeres) but also along the promoter sites of several oncogenes directly involved in many cancers. The G4 formation leads to an hindrance on DNA molecule which hinder the telomere elongation and transcription process. The result is a switching off of these mechanisms which are directly involved in cancer progression. Several factors can influence the G4 equilibria for example, saline conditions, temperature, pH, the binding with specific proteins as well as the presence of dehydrating cosolutes. Additionally, the overall structural feature of the G4 is strictly dependent upon the DNA sequence. As a results, different G4 can be identified inside the cells. In this project, we focused on the conformational study of the promotorial regions of EGFR and BRAF oncogenes since, on these sites the existence of G4 putative forming regions was found. In particular, the sequences at positions -272, -37 of EGFR and -176 of BRAF from the transcription start site were analyzed. Indeed, no previous literature data were reported about the structural equilibria in solution of these sequences. We found that our tested sequences are actually able to fold into G4 by setting the most proper experimental conditions and also close to the intracellular physiological environment (KCl 150 mM, pH 7.5). However, oncogenes are double stranded sequences and the folding of the complementary cytosine rich strand into i-motif (iM) can be involved in the switching off of gene transcription. Although, so far, no physiological evidence has been observed for i-motif conformation, here, we aimed to investigate also the cytosine rich strand conformation, to assess if this folding in the case of our sequences is compatible with the physiological conditions and if it can synergically works with the G4 to destabilize the double strand. Our data showed that in physiological condition the preferential form is represented by the double strand . However, some selected ligands showed to shift the DNA B-form toward the non canonical conformation. Indeed, here we implemented our work with the screening of two libraries of compounds in order to find a selective and efficient binder. We carried on the binding study of anthraquinones and naphthalene diimides derivatives, known to have the chemical features of efficient G4 binders. These ligands were first tested on different G4 templates, known to be validated models for G4 binding study, and their efficiency on G4 has been compared with the double strand. The most G4 selective derivatives were than investigated towards our oncogenic G4s. Although more work is required to identify a lead compound, we were able to demonstrate how the use of asymmetrical substitution pattern on a aromatic core can implement the selectivity among different G4s. Finally, in order to map the occurrence of G4 conformation in vivo, we set up a novel technique which consists in an in vivo footprinting protocol. This work, performed at University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS (USA), under the supervision of Dr Tracy A. Brooks, should provide novel insight on the G4 formation in the cells according to their physiological and environmental conditions
Molti studi dimostrano che l’assunzione di strutture “non canoniche” da parte della molecola di DNA sia coinvolto in molti importanti processi biologici che regolano la proliferazione cellulare e l’espressione proteica. In particolare, è stata dimostrata l’implicazione di una di queste particolari strutture secondarie, chiamata G-quadruplex (G4), nel blocco della progressione del cancro. La struttura G4 è propria di sequenze di DNA ricche in guanine consecutive che assemblandosi tramite legami di Hoostein, formano piani di tetradi di guanine impilati tra loro. Questa particolare conformazione si forma prevalentemente lungo i tratti terminali dei cromosomi, i telomeri, ma anche lungo siti promotoriali di diversi oncogeni coinvolti in molti tipi di cancro. La formazione del G4 porta ad una sorta di ingombro sulla molecola di DNA che inibisce l’elongazione del telomero e i processi di trascrizione. Questo porta ad uno “spegnimento” di questi meccanismi che sono direttamente coinvolti nello sviluppo del cancro. Molti fattori possono influenzare gli equilibri delle conformazioni G4, per esempio, le condizioni saline, la temperatura, il pH, il legame con specifiche proteine, così come la presenza di cosoluti. Inoltre, la struttura globale del G4 é rigorosamente dipendente dalla sequenza oligonucleotidica. Pertanto, diverse strutture G4 possono essere identificate a livello cellulare. In questo progetto, è stato condotto uno studio conformazionale di regioni promotoriali degli oncogeni EGFR e BRAF, dal momento che, su questi oncogeni è stata riscontrata la presenza di regioni “G-rich” (ricche in guanine) potenzialmente in grado di assumere una struttura G4. In particolare, sono state analizzate le sequenze a partire dalle posizioni -272, -37 di EGFR e -176 di BRAF dal “transcription start site” (sito di inizio della trascrizione). Finora, non sono presenti dati in letteratura riguardanti la caratterizzazione strutturale di queste sequenze in soluzione. Con questo studio, è stata dimostrata la capacità delle suddette sequenze di assumere una conformazione G4 nelle idonee condizioni sperimentali e soprattutto in un ambiente che mimi quello fisiologico (150mM KCl e pH 7.5). Poiché gli oncogeni sono sequenze a doppio filamento, anche la conformazione i-motif assunta dal filamento complementare ricco in citosine (“C-rich”) può essere coinvolta nella regolazione del processo di trascrizione genica. Tuttavia, sinora non è stata riscontrata alcuna rilevanza fisiologica della conformazione i-motif. In questo lavoro, è stata caratterizzata anche la conformazione assunta dal filamento “C-rich”, in particolare se essa possa esistere in condizioni fisiologiche e se fosse in grado di destabilizzare la doppia elica insieme al G4. I dati ottenuti dimostrano che in condizioni fisiologiche la forma prevalente è il doppio filamento. Tuttavia, è stato dimostrato come alcuni ligandi siano in grado di spostare l’equilibrio del DNA dalla sua forma di doppia elica-B, verso le conformazioni non canoniche. È stato infatti condotto uno studio su due librerie di composti con lo scopo di evidenziare un composto selettivo ed efficace. Ci siamo focalizzati su derivati antrachinonici e di naftalendiimidi noti come efficaci ligandi per il G4. Questi composti sono stati prima testati su diversi templati G4, noti per essere dei modelli validati per lo studio di binding sul G4. Quindi la loro efficienza sul G4 è stata poi comparata a quella sul doppio filamento. I derivati più selettivi verso il G4 sono stati poi testati su G4 oncogenici. Sebbene una continuazione dello studio fosse necessaria per identificare un composto “lead”, con questo lavoro è stato dimostrato come l’uso di una sostituzione asimmetrica sull’anello aromatico possa implementare la selettività tra più G4. Infine, per identificare la formazione del G4 in vivo, è stata messa a punto una nuova tecnica che consiste in un protocollo di footprinting in vivo. Questo lavoro, svolto nell’Università del Mississippi, Oxford, MS (USA) sotto la supervisione della dr.ssa Tracy A. Brooks, dovrebbe fornire nuovi sviluppi per la formazione del G4 nelle cellule in accordo con le loro condizioni fisiologiche

Formés à partir de brins d’ADN ou d’ARN riches en guanines, les quadruplexes résultent de l’empilement de tétrades de guanines constituées chacune par l’auto-assemblage dans un même plan de quatre guanines, stabilisées entre elles par un réseau de liaisons hydrogènes. En s’inspirant de cet édifice naturel, il est présenté au long de ce manuscrit de thèse la synthèse et l’étude de molécules de type TASQ (pour template-assembled synthetic G-quartet) hydrosolubles capables de former de manière intramoléculaire une tétrade de guanines synthétique : les DOTASQ, le PorphySQ et le PNADOTASQ. La première application développée pour ces composés est le ciblage des quadruplexes d’ADN et d’ARN, présents dans des régions clefs du génome (télomères, promoteurs d’oncogènes) et du transcriptome (5’-UTR et TERRA), et dont la stabilisation par un ligand pourrait ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives en terme de thérapie antitumorale ciblée. Les résultats in vitro sont présentés et permettent de démontrer que les TASQ hydrosolubles développés sont des composés offrant une bonne sélectivité pour les quadruplexes mais surtout une excellente sélectivité grâce à un mode d’action bioinspiré basé sur une reconnaissance biomimétique. La seconde application mise au point est l’utilisation des TASQ comme catalyseurs pour des réactions de peroxydation : leur architecture même leur permet de mimer l’activité catalytique de l’ADN (ou DNAzyme) ainsi que celle de protéines (enzyme) comme la horseradish peroxidase. Ce processus est dépendant de la formation intramoléculaire de la tétrade de guanines synthétique et ouvre de nombreuses perspectives en terme d’utilisation en biologie ainsi qu’en nanotechnologie
Natural G-quartets, a cyclic and coplanar array of four guanine residues held together via Hoogsteen H-bond network, have recently received much attention due to their involvement in G-quadruplex-DNA, an alternative higher-order DNA structure strongly suspected to play important roles in key cellular events (chromosomal stability, regulation of gene expression). Besides this, synthetic G-quartets, which artificially mimic native G-quartets, have also been widely studied for their involvement in nanotechnological applications (i.e. nanowires, artificial ion channels, etc.). In contrast, intramolecular synthetic G-quartets, also named template-assembled synthetic G-quartet (TASQ), have been more sparingly investigated, despite a technological potential just as interesting.In this way, we designed and synthesized three series of innovative hydrosoluble TASQ: DOTASQ (for DOTA-Templated Synthetic G-Quartet), PorphySQ (containing a porphyrin template) and the most effective PNADOTASQ where PNA-guanine arms replace native DOTASQ alkyl-guanine arms. We report herein the results of both DNA and RNA interactions (notably their selective recognition of quadruplex-DNA according to a bioinspired process) and peroxidase-like hemin-mediated catalytic activities (either in an autonomous fashion as precatalysts for TASQzyme reactions, or in conjunction with quadruplex-DNA as enhancing agents for DNAzyme processes). These results provide a solid scientific basis for TASQ to be used as multitasking tools for bionanotechnological applications

The DNA is a flexible and heterogeneous molecule that can adopt different local conformations alternative to the classical double-helix. These noncanonical structures are known as non-B DNAs. These conformers appear to play an important role in different physiological and pathological cellular conditions and influence many biochemical properties of the genome. The formation of these structures is dependent upon specific features of the DNA sequence and different patterns may lead to the formation of different non-B DNAs. Due to lack of updated and flexible computational methods, during these years I focused my work on the development of new tools for the detection of some of these patterns at a genome-wide scale. Particularly, I focused on the detection of patterns that are degenerate. For this task, I developed NeSSie and QPARSE. NeSSie efficiently and exhaustively detects sequences with symmetrical properties, such as mirrors and palindromes that are associated to the formation of hairpins, cruciforms, and triple-stranded DNA. QPARSE detects consecutive exact or degenerate runs of Gs (G-islands) that are involved in the formation of G-quadruplex (G4) and paired G-quadruplex structures, i.e. two quadruplex structures that are close to each other along the sequence and that can fold cooperatively interacting into a higher-order structure. Eventually, I started using these tools to perform analyses on Mycobacterium spp. and human genomes. In the genomes of Mycobacterium spp. that are capable of developing tuberculosis-like diseases, NeSSie revealed the enrichment of a pattern with perfect mirror properties. Experimental analyses confirmed that the pattern can fold into a previously unknown but very stable hairpin structure. In the human genome, I focused on the detection of paired G-quadruplex systems. A genome-wide analysis revealed a striking enrichment of sequences potentially involved in the formation of paired G4 systems in correspondence of the TSS (Transcription Starting Site) of thousands of human genes. Among the predicted systems, one has been detected in correspondence of BCL2 TSS and ongoing experimental validations suggest a cooperative folding of the two G-quadruplex structures. These results contribute to the idea that non-B DNAs can play important functional and potentially structural roles. They also suggest that the folding landscape of the DNA molecule is much more complex than previously assumed, and we have a huge lack of knowledge towards the alternative structures that can form in DNA. Following these evidences, the DNA sequence needs to be widely re-evaluated considering also its structural properties addressing efforts both at computational and experimental validation levels.
La doppia elica del DNA è una molecola molto flessibile ed eterogenea, che può adottare una vasta gamma di conformazioni locali alternative. Queste conformazioni vengono collettivamente chiamate non-B DNA. Questi conformeri sembrano svolgere un ruolo importante in diverse condizioni cellulari sia fisiologiche che patologiche, ed influenzano molte proprietà biochimiche del genoma. La formazione di queste strutture dipende da caratteristiche specifiche della sequenza del DNA, e diversi motivi di sequenza possono portare alla formazione di diverse strutture non-B DNA. Durante questi anni, ho concentrato il mio lavoro sullo sviluppo di nuovi strumenti computazionali per la rilevazione di alcuni di questi motivi su scala genomica. Questo investimento di tempo è stato necessario, poiché attualmente mancano strumenti sufficientemente flessibili in grado di eseguire tali analisi. In particolare, mi sono concentrato sul rilevamento di motivi degenerati. A tale scopo, ho sviluppato NeSSie e QPARSE. NeSSie è in grado di rilevare in modo efficiente ed esauriente sequenze con proprietà simmetriche, come motivi speculari e palindromici associati alla formazione di forcine, strutture cruciformi e regioni di DNA a triplo filamento. QPARSE può rilevare ripetizioni consecutive di isole di G esatte o degenerate, che sono coinvolte nella formazione di G-quadruplex (G4) e strutture G-quadruplex appaiate (cioè due strutture quadruplex che si trovano vicine lungo la sequenza e che possono interagire formando una struttura di ordine superiore ed influenzandosi reciprocamente nel ripiegamento). Ho quindi iniziato a utilizzare questi strumenti per eseguire analisi su genomi appartenenti a specie di micobatterio e sul genoma umano. Nei genomi delle specie di micobatteri che sono in grado di sviluppare malattie simili alla tubercolosi, NeSSie ha rivelato l'arricchimento di un motivo con una perfetta simmetria a specchio. Analisi sperimentali hanno quindi confermato che questo motivo può piegarsi in una struttura a forcina precedentemente sconosciuta ma molto stabile. Nel genoma umano, mi sono concentrato sul rilevamento di sistemi G-quadruplex accoppiati. Una analisi su tutto il genoma ha rivelato un sorprendente arricchimento di sequenze potenzialmente coinvolte nella formazione di questi sistemi in corrispondenza del TSS (Sito di inizio della trascrizione) di migliaia di geni umani. Tra i sistemi predetti, uno identificato in corrispondenza del TSS di BCL2 è in corso di validazione sperimentale e i risultati preliminari sono promettenti. Questi risultati contribuiscono all'idea che i non-B DNA possano svolgere importanti ruoli funzionali e potenzialmente strutturali. Suggeriscono anche che il panorama di strutture che possono formarsi nella molecola di DNA sia molto più complesso di quanto ipotizzato, e che abbiamo ancora un'enorme mancanza di conoscenza verso queste strutture alternative. Seguendo queste evidenze, la sequenza del DNA deve essere ampiamente rivalutata non solo dal punto di vista della codifica, ma considerando anche le sue proprietà strutturali e funzionali. È quindi necessario indirizzare gli sforzi verso nuovi campi di indagine, studiando e caratterizzando queste strutture a livello genomico.

Cancer diseases are increasing worldwide and more than 20 million new cancer cases per year are expected by 2025. At these days the treatment of neoplastic forms took advantage of classic approaches, based on chemotherapeutics and radiotherapeutics agents. However they are characterized by numerous limitations as remarkable side effects, toxicity and selection of resistant phenotypes to such therapies. This prompted the development of so-called targeted therapies, where selective chemical entities (small molecules, monoclonal antibodies, miRNAs, siRNAs etc.) hit a single molecular target of the tumor phenotype. Despite, these therapies have proven to be efficient alternatives they also present several limitations that make them quite ineffective. In order to overcome these remarkable drawbacks, he modulation of the gene expression, that exploits the ability of nucleic acids to assume different conformations, defined as non-canonical, became extremely interesting. Among these non-canonical conformations, extremely fascinating are the tetrahelical conformations known as G-quadruplex (G4) and i-Motif (iM), that seem to be involved in the blockage of the cancer development. G4 structures occur at DNA and RNA sequences presenting a high abundance of consecutive guanines that interact each other through Hoogstein hydrogen bonds to generate a planar structure called G-tetrads. Stacking interaction between two or more G tetrads create the overall structure. Bioinformatics studies revealed that prevalently these regions are contained along the telomeres and within the untranslated region (UTR) or within the promoter sites of several oncogenes (approximately 40%) directly implicated in the development of tumor phenotypes. The UTR domains, as the promoter regions, are double-stranded DNA sequences. Therefore the complementary strand results enriched in cytosine, that under specific environmental conditions can folds into a tetrahelical conformation, known as i-Motif. Unlike the G4s, the building block of the entire structure is a dimer of cytosine mainly stabilized by the presence of three Hoogstein hydrogen bonds. The in vivo formation of G4 and iM leads to a steric hindrance at the DNA level; this suggests an inhibition/activation effect on the elongation process of the telomere or on the gene expression process Under the supervision of Dr. Laurence J. Hurley, the structural characterization of the cytosine rich sequence contained within the NHE(III)1 region of MYC promoter was completed. In particular, was assessing the effect of the loop composition on the stability and folding process of the already characterized iM. Since it was proved that this conformation in vivo is involved in the transcriptional activation, the possibility to target it by using a selected compound (IMC-30) was considered. Furthermore, we took into consideration the possibility to use this compound (IMC-30) as an anticancer drug by testing its ability to induce the apoptosis process in a cancer cell line in which the selected gene was overexpressed. Besides the several evidence reported for the tetrahelical conformations assumed by the GC-rich promoter regions, more recently the efforts moved forward to the G-rich tract contained in the untranslated (UTR) domains, both the 5’- and the 3’-UTR, of the primary transcript. Since, they can act as modulators of the translation process. Based on this evidence, in this project, the guanine rich sequences contained in the 5'-UTR region, both at the DNA and RNA levels, of the BCL2 gene were considered. In particular, the structural characterization study was initially carried out on the minimal sequences (dBcl2_G and rBcl2_G), then the effect exerts by the presence of additional nucleotides on the folding process towards the G-quadruplex was taken into consideration (dBcl2_G + 3 WC, rBcl2_G + 3 WC and rBcl2_48). Additionally, the cytosine rich tract contained on the DNA complementary strand was considered and characterized. Our data have shown that the dBcl2_G and rBcl2_G are able to assume multiple G4 conformations. While, the presence of additional nucleotides strongly modulates their ability to assume the non-canonical conformation. Indeed, we proved that the presence of 3 WC pairing partially prevents the formation of G4 both in the DNA and in the RNA, while the addition of a greater number of bases (rBcl2_48) leads to the formation of a different conformation that competes with the G4 structure. Regarding the cytosine rich string, its conformational equilibria have been taken into consideration both in a mildly acidic environment and in an environment that mimics the physiological condition. Finally, we implemented our work, by screening a library of compounds on each tested sequences in order to find a ligand that selectively recognizes and stabilizes one conformation. From the acquired data it emerged the feasibility to stabilize/induce the iM using the Bisanthrene compound and its derivative Bis 1-8. For the guanine rich sequences, Sanguinarine and Chelerythrine provide the best results on each tested tracts, therefore they cannot be considered selective compounds. Similarly, also the Bisanthrene derivatives recognize and interact with each tested guanine tracts, although with different selectivity.
Oggigiorno una delle “piaghe” che affligge maggiormente la popolazione mondiale è il cancro. Il trattamento di queste forme neoplastiche sfrutta agenti chemioterapici e radioterapici, caratterizzati da numerose limitazioni legate ai notevoli effetti collaterali, alla tossicità e alla selezione di fenotipi resistenti a tali terapie. Ciò ha portato allo sviluppo delle targeted therapy, che sfruttano entità chimiche (small molecules, anticorpi monoclonali, miRNA, siRNA ecc.) selettive per un bersaglio molecolare caratteristico del fenotipo tumorale. Nonostante più mirati anche questi approcci presentano degli effetti collaterali Pertanto la modulazione dell’espressione genica che sfrutta la capacità degli acidi nucleici di assumere differenti conformazioni, definite non canoniche, ha destato sempre più interesse. Tra le possibili strutture non canoniche di notevole interesse sono le conformazioni tetraelicoidali note come G-quadruplex (G4) e i-Motif (iM). La struttura G4 è propria di sequenze di DNA e RNA contenenti un’elevata abbondanza di guanine consecutive che, mediante legami a idrogeno di tipo Hoogstein, generano delle strutture planari chiamate tetradi. Dall’’impilamento di due o più tetradi si genera la struttura a tetraelica. Poiché il DNA è una doppia elica, il filamento complementare a queste regioni G ricche presenta un’elevata abbondanza di citosine. Anche questi domini in particolari condizioni ambientali, possono generare una conformazione tetraelicoidale, nota come i-Motif. A differenza del G4, il building block dell’intera struttura è un dimero di citosine stabilizzato dalla presenza di tre legami a idrogeno. In vivo l’esistenza di queste conformazioni, genera una sorta d’ingombro sterico a livello del DNA e ciò presuppone un effetto d’inibizione/attivazione del processo di elongazione del telomero o del processo trascrizionale. Sotto la supervisione del Dott. Laurence J. Hurley, è stata implementata la caratterizzazione strutturale della stringa di citosine contenute nel promotore del gene MYC. In seguito un selezionato ligando è stato testato con l’idea di poter modulare il processo di folding/unfolding alla base dell’attivazione trascrizionale. Infine, l’effetto mediato da questo composto sul processo apoptotico è stato preso in considerazione lavorando su una selezionata linea cellulare. Di notevole interesse sono le regioni GC-ricche contenute nella porzione non tradotta del trascritto primario (mRNA). Sulla base di ciò, in questo progetto, sono state prese in considerazioni, le stringhe di guanina e citosina contenute nella regione del 5’-UTR, sia a livello del DNA sia del RNA, del gene BCL2. Inizialmente è stato condotto uno studio di caratterizzazione sulle sequenze minimali dBcl2_G, dBcl2_C e rBcl2_G. In seguito è stato preso in considerazione l’effetto della presenza di nucleotidi adiacenti sul processo di folding verso il G-quadruplex (dBcl2_G + 3WC, rBcl2_G + 3WC e rBcl2_48). I dati ottenuti dimostrano che le sequenze dBcl2_G e rBcl2_G sono in grado di assumere molteplici conformazioni G4. La presenza di nucleotidi addizionali modula la loro capacità di assumere queste conformazioni. In particolare, la presenza di tre appaiamenti WC impedisce parzialmente la formazione del G4 sia nel DNA, che nel RNA mentre, l’aggiunta di un maggior numero di basi (rBcl2_48) sposta l’equilibrio conformazionale verso una conformazione in forte competizione con il G4. Per la sequenza ricca di citosine, l’equilibrio conformazionale è stato valutato sia in ambiente blandamente acido, che in un ambiente che mima la condizione fisiologica. Infine, poiché negli ultimi anni è stata dimostrata la capacità di alcuni ligandi sintetici/naturali, di spostare gli equilibri conformazionali del DNA, dalla classica forma a doppio filamento, verso queste conformazioni tetraelicoidali, una selezionata libreria di composti è stata, scrinata allo scopo di individuare un ligando in grado di riconoscere e stabilizzare selettivamente una conformazione al pari di un'altra.

ATRX is a chromatin remodeling protein associated with X-linked Alpha-Thalassemia Mental Retardation syndrome and cancers that use the Alternative Lengthening of Telomere pathway. In the absence of ATRX there is a DNA damage response associated with telomeres and the expression of certain genes are perturbed. Recent findings (Law et al, 2010 Cell) have shown that ATRX is preferentially enriched at GC-rich tandem repeats in the genome. The mechanism for this localisation is unknown but may be related to the potential for these GC-rich tandem repeats to adopt non-B form DNA structures; ATRX has been shown to bind such structures (G4) in vitro. This study aims to understand the specific factors of the repeats that signal ATRX targeting. To address the research questions, an experimental system was developed, in which known targets, the ψζ VNTR and telomere repeats, were inserted into an inducible ectopic gene in the 293T-Rex cell line by site-directed recombination. ATRX was found to be enriched at the ectopic repeats compared to an endogenous negative control suggesting that it is recruited by the repeats independent of its original context. Furthermore, ATRX enrichment increased upon transcription of the ectopic gene, and this was dependent on the orientation of the repeat with the non-template strand being G-rich. Interestingly, when the repeat was transcribed, the distribution of ATRX across the repeats was asymmetrical with most ATRX binding downstream of the repeat. Moreover, there was a direct correlation between the repeat size and level of ATRX bound: the longer the repeat the higher the increase in ATRX enrichment. To determine the signal for ATRX binding, assays were performed to look for features which reflected the distribution of ATRX including H3K9me3, RNA polII, G4, R loops and DNA supercoiling. R loops look to be a strong candidate for the signaling of ATRX binding.

Meiosis is a specialized type of cell division where two rounds of chromosome segregation follow a single round of DNA duplication resulting in the formation of four haploid daughter cells. Once the DNA replication is complete, the homologous chromosomes pair and recombine during the meiotic prophase I, giving rise to genetic diversity in the gametes. The process of homology search during meiosis is broadly divided into recombination-dependent (involves the formation of double-strand breaks) and recombination-independent mechanisms. In most eukaryotic organisms, pairing of homologs, recombination and chromosome segregation occurs in the context of a meiosis-specific proteinaceous structure, known as the synaptonemal complex (SC). The electron microscopic visualization of SC has revealed that the structure is tripartite with an electron-dense central element and two lateral elements that run longitudinally along the entire length of paired chromosomes. Transverse filaments are protein structures that connect the central region to the lateral elements. Genetic analyses in budding yeast indicate that mutations in SC components or defects in SC formation are associated with chromosome missegregation, aneuploidy and spore inviability. In humans, defects in SC assembly are linked to miscarriages, birth defects such as Down syndrome and development of certain types of cancer. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, genetic screens have identified several mutants that exhibit defects in SC formation culminate in a decrease in the frequency of meiotic recombination, spore viability and improper chromosome segregation. Ten meiosis-specific proteins, viz. Hop1, Red1, Mek1, Hop2, Pch2, Zip1, Zip2, Zip3, Zip4 and Rec8, have been shown to be the bona fide components of SC and/or associated with SC function. S. cerevisiae HOP1 (HOmolog Pairing) gene was isolated in a genetic screen for mutants that showed defects in homolog pairing and, consequently, reduced levels of interhomolog recombination (10% of wild-type). Amino acid sequence alignment together with genetic and biochemical analyses revealed that Hop1 is a 70 kDa protein with a centrally embedded essential zinc-finger motif (Cys2/Cys2) and functions in polymeric form. Previous biochemical studies have also shown that Hop1 is a structure-specific DNA binding protein, which exhibits high affinity for the Holliday junction (HJ) suggesting a role of this protein in branch migration of the HJ. Furthermore, Hop1 displays high affinity for G-quadruplex structures (herein after referred to as GQ) and also promotes the formation of GQ from unfolded G-rich oligonucleotides. Strikingly, Hop1 promotes pairing between two double-stranded DNA molecules via G/C-rich sequence as well as intra- and inter-molecular pairing of duplex DNA molecules. Structure-function analysis suggested that Hop1 has a modular organization consisting of a protease-sensitive N-terminal, HORMA domain (characterized in Hop1, Rev7, Mad2 proteins) and protease-resistant C-terminal domain, called Hop1CTD. Advances in the field of DNA quadruplex structures suggest a significant role for these structures in a variety of biological functions such as signal transduction, DNA replication, recombination, gene expression, sister chromatid alignment etc. GQs and i-motif structures that arise within the G/C-rich regions of the genome of different organisms have been extensively characterized using biophysical, biochemical and cell biological approaches. Emerging studies with guanine- and cytosine-rich sequences of several promoters, telomeres and centromeres have revealed the formation of GQs and i-motif, respectively. Although the presence of GQs within cells has been demonstrated using G4-specific antibodies, in general, the in vivo existence of DNA quadruplex structures is the subject of an ongoing debate. However, the identification and isolation of proteins that bind and process these structures support the idea of their in vivo existence. In S. cerevisiae, genome-wide survey to identify conserved GQs has revealed the presence of ~1400 GQ forming sequences. Additionally, these potential GQ forming motifs were found in close proximity to promoters, rDNA and mitosis- and meiosis-specific double-strand break sites (DSBs). Meiotic recombination in S. cerevisiae as well as humans occurs at meiosis-specific double-strand break (DSBs) sites that are embedded within the G/C-rich sequences. However, much less is known about the structural features and functional significance of DNA quadruplex motifs in sister chromatid alignment N during meiosis. Therefore, one of the aims of the studies described in this thesis was to investigate the relationship between the G/C-rich motif at a meiosis-specific DSB site in S. cerevisiae and its ability to form GQ and i-motif structures. To test this hypothesis, we chose a G/C-rich motif at a meiosis-specific DSB site located between co-ordinates 1242526 to 1242550 on chromosome IV of S. cerevisiae. Using multiple techniques such as native gel electrophoresis, circular dichroism spectroscopy, 2D NMR and chemical foot printing, we show that G-rich motif derived from the meiosis-specific DSB folds into an intramolecular GQ and the complementary C-rich sequence folds into an intramolecular i-motif, the latter under acidic conditions. Interestingly, we found that the C-rich strand folds into i-motif at near neutral pH in the presence of cell-mimicking molecular crowding agents. The NMR data, consistent with our biochemical and biophysical analyses, confirmed the formation of a stable i-motif structure. To further elucidate the impact of these quadruplex structures on DNA replication in vitro, we carried out DNA polymerase stop assay with a template DNA containing either the G-rich or the C-rich sequence. Primer extension assays carried out with Taq polymerase and G-rich template blocked the polymerase at a site that corresponded to the formation of an intramolecular GQ. Likewise, primer extension reactions carried out with KOD-Plus DNA polymerase and C-rich template led to the generation of a stop-product at the site of the formation of intramolecular I -motif under acidic conditions (pH 4.5 and pH 5.5). However, polymerase stop assay performed in the presence of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) that stabilize I -motif at physiological pH blocked the polymerase at the site of intramolecular I -motif formation, indicating the possible existence of i-motif in the cellular context. Taken together, these results revealed that the G/C-rich motif at the meiosis-specific DSB site folds into GQ and i-motif structures in vitro. Our in vitro analyses were in line with our in vivo analysis that examined the ability of the G/C-rich motif to fold into quadruplex structures in S. cerevisiae cells. Qualitative microscopic analysis and quantitative analysis with plasmid constructs that harbour the GQ or i-motif forming sequence revealed a significant decrease in the GFP expression levels in comparison to the control. More importantly, all the assays performed with the corresponding mutant sequences under identical experimental conditions did not yield any quadruplex structures, suggesting the involvement of contagious guanine and cytosine residues in the structure formation. Prompted by our earlier results that revealed high binding affinity of Hop1 for GQ, we wished to understand the role of the GQ and i-motif structures during meiosis by analysing their interaction with Hop1 and its truncated variants (HORMA and Hop1CTD). In agreement with our previous observations, Hop1 and Hop1CTD associated preferentially with GQ DNA. Interestingly, whereas the full-length Hop1 showed much weaker binding affinity for i-motif DNA, Hop1 C-terminal fragment but not its N-terminal fragment exhibited robust i-motif DNA binding activity. We have previously demonstrated that Hop1 promotes intermolecular synapsis between synthetic duplex DNA molecules containing a G/C-rich sequence. Hence, to understand the functional role of the quadruplex structures formed at the meiosis-specific G/C-rich motif, we examined the ability of Hop1 to promote pairing between linear duplex DNA helices containing the G/C-rich motif. DNA pairing assay indicated that binding of Hop1 to the G/C-rich duplex DNA resulted in the formation of a side-by-side synapsis product. Under similar conditions, Hop1 was unable to pair mutant duplex DNA molecules suggesting the involvement of the G/C-rich motif in the formation of the synapsis product. Our results were substantiated by the observation that yeast Rad17 failed to promote pairing between duplex DNA molecules with a centrally embedded G/C-rich motif. Altogether, these results provide important structural and functional insights into the role of quadruplex structures in meiotic pairing of homologous chromosomes. The second part of the thesis focuses on the biochemical and functional properties of Red1 protein, a component of S. cerevisiae lateral element. RED1 was identified in a screen for meiotic lethal, sporulation proficient mutants. Genetic, biochemical and microscopic analyses have demonstrated the physical interaction between Hop1 and Red1. Given this, hop1 and red1 mutants display similar phenotypes such as chromosome missegregation and spore inviability and thus are placed under the same epistasis group. However, unlike hop1 mutants, red1 mutants show complete absence of SC. RED1 overexpression suppressed certain non-null hop1 phenotypes, indicating that these proteins may have partially overlapping functions. Further, although the functional significance is unknown, chromatin immunoprecipitation studies have revealed the localization of Red1 to the GC-rich regions (R-bands) in the genome, considered to be meiotic recombination hotspots. Although the aforementioned genetic studies suggest an important role for Red1 in meiosis, the exact molecular function of Red1 in meiotic recombination remains to be elucidated. To explore the biochemical properties of Red1, we isolated the S. cerevisiae RED1 gene, cloned, overexpressed, and purified the protein to near homogeneity. Immunoprecipitation assays using meiotic cells extracts suggested that Red1 exists as a Homodimer linked by disulphide-bonds under physiological conditions. We characterized the DNA binding properties of Red1 by analysing its interaction with recombination intermediates that are likely to form during meiotic recombination. Protein-DNA interaction assays revealed that Red1 exhibits binding preference for the Holliday junction over replication fork and other recombination intermediates. Notably, Red1 displayed ~40-fold higher binding affinity for GQ in comparison with HJ. The observation that Red1 binds robustly to GQs prompted us to examine if Red1 could promote pairing between duplex DNA helices with the G/C-rich sequences similar to Hop1. Interestingly, we found that Red1 failed to promote pairing between dsDNA molecules but potentiated Hop1 mediated pairing between duplex DNA molecules. Our AFM studies with linear and circular DNA molecules along with Red1 suggested a possible role of Red1 in DNA condensation, bridging and pairing of double-stranded DNA helices. Bioinformatics analysis of Red1 indicated the lack of sequence or structural similarity to any of the known proteins. To elucidate structure-function relationship of Red1, we generated several N- and C-terminal Red1 truncations and studied their DNA binding properties. Our results indicated that the N-terminal region comprising of 678 amino acid residues constitutes the DNA-binding region of Red1. The N-terminal region, called RNTF-II, displayed similar substrate specificity comparable to that of full-length Red1. Interestingly, site-directed mutagenesis studies with the Red1 C-terminal region revealed the involvement of two cysteine residues at position 704 and 707 in the disulfide bond mediated intermolecular dimer formation. Finally, to understand the functional significance of Red1 truncations we analyzed the subcellular localization of Red1 and its truncations. We made translation fusions of RED1 and its truncations by placing their corresponding nucleotide sequences downstream of GFP coding sequence in yeast expression vector. Confocal microscopy studies with S. cerevisiae cells transformed with the individual plasmid constructs indicated that the N-terminal variants localized to the nucleus, whereas the C-terminal variants did not localize to the nucleus. These results suggest that NLS-like motifs are embedded in the N-terminal region of the protein. Furthermore, other results indicated that the N-terminal region contains functions such as DNA-binding and intermolecular bridging of non-contiguous DNA segments. Altogether, these findings, on the one hand, provide insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the functions of Hop1 and Red1 proteins and, on the other, support a role for DNA quadruplex structures in meiotic chromosome synapsis and recombination.

博士
國立臺灣師範大學
化學系
99
Telomeres, the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes, are essential for the stability of chromosomes. In the presence of monovalent cations such as Na+ or K+, the G-rich single stranded DNA of telomere can form a secondary structure through Hoogsteen hydrogen bonds, termed G-quadruplex (G4). We have applied two-photon excitation fluorescence lifetime microscope (2PE-FLIM) to successfully verify and map the localizations of G4 structures in human nasopharyngeal carcinoma metaphase chromosomes. In addition, the G-rich sequences can adopt various G4 structures and possibly interconvert among these structures upon changing solvent and temperature conditions. For example, a fast spectral conversion occurs under Na/K cation exchange. We have developed a number of methods to elucidate the mechanisms of this spectral conversion. Ensemble-based fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and single molecule tethered particle motion (TPM) studies suggested that the fast spectral conversion is unlikely due to F1UFF2 via a totally unfolded intermediate induced by potassium cations. In addition, temperature-dependent circular dichroism (CD) studies suggested that the energy barrier from F1 to F2 is almost negligible. Thus, we consider that the fast spectral conversion during Na/K cation exchange is due to F1F2 via rapid base shift and loop rearrangement. On the other hand, the structural conversion from the antiparallel G4 structure in Na+ solution to the parallel G4 structure in K+ solution was observed in the presence of dehydrated reagents. Using thermodynamic and kinetic studies, a free energy diagram can be tentatively established for the structural conversion of HT22 from antiparallel form in Na+ solution to the parallel in K+ solution at 25℃ under 40 % (w/v) PEG 200 condition. It is known that the Cu2+ induces the unfolding of G4 structure while addition of the EDTA2- can chelate the Cu2+ to reverse the unfolded state to the folded state. Based on this and we found that the kinetic product is likely to play a major role in physiological condition. Furthermore, G4 stabilizers are screened by a novel method based on Cu2+ -induced G4 unfolding at room temperature. Thus, 3,6,9 tri-substitution of BMVC4 core molecules are ready to prepare in further study.

Watson-Crick paired B-form DNA is the genetic material in most of the biological systems. Integrity of DNA is of utmost importance for the normal functioning of any organism. Various environmental factors, chemicals and endogenous agents constantly challenge integrity of the genome resulting in mutagenesis. Over the past few decades multiple reports suggest that DNA can adopt alternative conformations other than the right handed double helix. Such structures occur within the context of B-DNA as sequence dependent structural variations and are facilitated by free energy derived from negative supercoiling, which may be generated during physiological processes like transcription, replication, etc. or binding of proteins. Multiple groups have shown that these structures render fragility to the genome owing to single-strandedness (presence of unpaired bases). This conformational polymorphism of the DNA is due to the presence of several repetitive elements across the genome. Some of the common non-B DNA structures include Z-DNA, H-DNA (triplex DNA), cruciform DNA, G-quadruplexes and RNA: DNA hybrid (R-loops). Over the past few decades G-quadruplex structures have gained tremendous importance owing to its role in physiology and pathology. Recently it has been shown that novel sequence motifs, called GNG or bulges can fold into G-quadruplexes, thus increasing the propensity of such structures genome-wide. Neurological diseases, psychiatric diseases and genomic disorders (due to deletions, translocations, duplications and inversions) are some of the consequences of non-B DNA structures in the human genome. Inadvertent genomic rearrangements in human can lead to different diseases including cancer. Immediate consequence of genomic rearrangement includes structural alteration of genome through joining of distant sequences. t(8;14) translocation is the hallmark of Burkitt’s lymphoma, which results in deregulation of c-MYC gene that may contribute to oncogenic transformation. In the present study, we delineate the causes of fragility within the c-MYC gene. In order to do this, breakpoints at the c-MYC locus from Burkitt’s lymphoma patient sequences reported in database were plotted and analysed. Interestingly, unlike many other translocations, breakpoints at c-MYC locus were widespread, except for a cluster of breakpoints downstream to promoter 2 (P2). Previous studies indicate that the translocation breakpoint clusters often correlate with formation of non-B DNA structures. The entire breakpoint cluster downstream of P2 was divided into Region 1, Region 2 and Region 3. Interestingly, in silico analysis of the breakpoint clusters revealed no evidence for predictive classic non-B DNA motifs in Region 2; whereas Region 1 harboured a G-quadruplex motif on the template strand and Region 3 had two short inverted repeats. Intriguingly, as the nontemplate strand of Region 2 was G skewed with a good number of AID binding motifs, we tested the MYC breakpoint Region 2 for its potential to form R-loop due to binding of nascent RNA to template DNA. Our results showed that MYC Region 2 can form RNA-DNA hybrid in a transcription dependent manner in physiological orientation. Observed structure was sensitive to RNase H. We showed Region 2 hindered action of Dpn I upon transcription confirming formation of R-loop structure. Owing to single strandedness, Region 2 R-loop was shown to be sensitive to P1 nuclease as opposed to the untranscribed control. The single strandedness of the Region 2 R-loop was characterized at a single molecule level through bisulfite modification assay. The assay corroborated formation of R-loop along with providing snapshots of various length R-loops formed upon Region 2 transcription. Besides, various biophysical and biochemical assays showed the complementary region (template strand) to be single-stranded in stretches, upon transcription. Length of RNA within the R-loop was within a range of 75 to 250 nt. To delineate the mechanism of R-loop formation we tested the sensitivity of R-loop formation to RNase A during and post transcription; and found that R-loop formation was abrogated in presence of RNase A during transcription suggesting that R-loop formation followed a “thread back model”. Intriguingly we observed that two short regions of the template strand exhibited high degree of single strandedness. To investigate the reason for such unusual single strandedness, oligonucleotides spanning the region was designed and subjected for CD and EMSA studies. EMSA showed robust intramolecular G-quadruplex structure formation in presence of KCl, whereas CD confirmed that both regions formed parallel G-quadruplexes. We also showed the precise involvement of guanines in structure formation through DMS protection assay. Further, the region of interest was cloned into appropriate vectors and primer extension assays were performed in presence of G-quadruplex stabilizing agents like TMPyP4 and KCl. Increasing concentration of these stabilizing agents enhanced the formation of G-quadruplexes in a double stranded context, which hindered polymerase progression. Since these G-quadruplex structures utilized sequences which are deviant to the consensus of G-quadruplex motifs, non-B DNA predicting tools were unable to score them. On closer analysis of the sequences we found that, these G-quadruplexes involve duplex hairpin and GNG motifs during structure formation. Besides, both the G-quadruplexes were highly thermostable and were able to fold back upon renaturation. Till recently, it has been believed that G-quadruplex structures are formed using a minimum of four, 3 guanine tracts, with connecting loops ranging from one to seven. Recent studies have reported deviation from this general convention. One such deviation is the involvement of bulges in the guanine tracts. In the present study, guanines along with GNG motifs have been extensively studied using recently reported HOX11 breakpoint fragile region I as a model template. By strategic mutagenesis approach we show that the core elements of a G-quadruplex are not equally important in structure formation when flanked by GNG motifs. Importantly, the positioning and number of GNG/GNGNG can dictate the formation of G-quadruplexes. In addition to HOX11 fragile region, GNG motifs of HIF1-alpha can fold into intramolecular G-quartet. However, GNG motifs in mutant VEGF sequence could not participate in structure formation, suggesting that the usage of GNG is context dependent. Importantly, we show that when two stretches of guanines are flanked by two independent GNG motifs in a naturally occurring sequence (SHOX), it can fold into an intramolecular G-quadruplex. Interestingly, intra molecular GNG G-quadruplexes were able to fold back after complete denaturation of the oligonucleotides. Besides one of the intra molecular GNG G-quadruplexes was purified and confirmed for parallel conformation. Finally, we show the specific binding of G-quadruplex binding protein, Nucleolin and G-quadruplex antibody BG4 to SHOX G-quadruplex through EMSA studies. Thus, the study provides novel insights into the role of GNG motifs in G-quadruplex structure formation, which may have both physiological and pathological implications. In conclusion, we show formation of transcription dependent R-loop and G-quadruplex structures at the c-MYC gene locus in a mutually exclusive manner. The data presented here, in conjunction with studies from other laboratories suggests that these structures could impart fragility within the c-MYC gene locus during t(8;14) translocation. Besides, we characterised unusual G-quadruplexes harbouring GNG motifs. We find that positioning and number of GNG can dictate the formation of G-quadruplexes and is context dependent.

碩士
國立陽明大學
生醫光電工程研究所
96
Telomeres, which are found in the end of chromosomes, and many gene promoters have guanine(G)-rich sequences. The length of telomeres can be maintained by telomerase to prevent cells from senescence, and their activities are revealed in more than 80% of all cancer cases. Gene promoters such as bcl-2 and vegf are related to the regulation of gene expression, and over-expressions of them are reported in many cancer studies. Interestingly, because telomeres and gene promoters are G-rich sequences, they are able to form the G-quadruplex structures. It is important to investigate the various G-quadruplex structures formed by the original and modified telomeric and non-telomeric sequences. In our experiment, we use the new fluorescent probe 3,6-bis (1-methyl-2-vinylpyridinium)carbazole diiodide (BMVC-2) as the binding ligand, and combine polyacrylamide electrophoresis and fluorescence lifetime image microscopy to measure the ligand-binding signals in order to study the G-quadruplex structures. From the analysis of fluorescence decay curves, we can deduce that G-quadruplex structures have mainly two ligand-binding modes. One is terminal stacking and the other is non-specific binding. Furthermore, when the loop sequences of the G-quadruplexes are reduced to single nucleotide, the π-π interaction of terminal stacking will be effected, leading to the change in fluorescence decay time of BMVC-2. On the other hand, when we modify the loop sequences without effecting the π-π interaction of terminal stacking, the change in fluorescence decay time of BMVC-2 is less. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the loop effect on the π-π interaction of terminal binding ligand to the G-quadruplexes has been evaluated.